PrequelKlok
by AlmaArdienda
Summary: Lucia Reyes was born and raised in dry suburbia, not knowing that she would soon be solely responsible for bringing together the greatest and most terrible entertainment force known to mankind. My first fic. Please read!
1. Chapter 1: DismissedKlok

Lucia Reyes loved shows. She loved the lights, the surge of the crowd, mosh pits, everything. She even loved the time between band performances, the audience buzzing as radio rock poured through the speakers while the equipment got set up onstage. Tonight's show was sure to be amazing. Headlining were Children of Bodom and Cradle of Filth, along with some Scandinavian band, Smugly Dismissed. Unfortunately, Lucia would be witnessing it all from behind the counter of the concession stand on the balcony of the Pavilion. _Hey_, she thought to herself while placing some hot dogs on their little carousel. _At least I have a perfect view from here_. Just across the way was a gigantic screen enlarging the stage below it.

The Pavilion hosted a motley assortment of concerts every weekend; you never knew who would be playing next. Lucia had taken the job for the super awesome reason of being able to see every show while getting paid 10 bucks an hour to sling soda and hot dogs. The work wasn't exactly "challenging" as long as you knew your way around a microwave, and she got all the free food she wanted. In other words, it was a pretty sweet gig. Not to mention the fact that she got to work with her two best friends. A geeky, gothic airhead and more loyal than you could hope for, Wendy Bancroft was always by Lucia's side. Then there was Lucia's cousin, Marina Reyes. Marina was born around the same time that Lucia had been adopted, so the two girls were pretty close.

Most people didn't need to be told that Lucia was adopted. She glanced at her reflection in the metal siding of the churro warmer. Despite sharing the same light mocha skin as the rest of the family, she had thick, coppery auburn hair and olive-colored, almond-shaped eyes while Marina carried on the Reyes genes: huge, deep brown eyes and fine black hair.

"Checking yourself out again?" Marina laughed, nudging Lucia with her elbow. "They brought more stock. We need to add four more pretzel boxes to the list."

"Oh, right." Lucia absentmindedly pulled the stock list from her pocket and added four to the pretzel column. "What about nachos?"

"Five sets of twenty-five trays, so 125. And ten bags of chips," Wendy replied after a moment of counting. "Hey, customers."

Just as the girls finished clearing out the small line of customers, five tall and slim Scandinavian musicians strutted onstage. The head of the group was particularly tall and blonde… obviously the lead guitar. He belted out a few riffs, eliciting several female screams from the audience. Getting his desired reaction, a proud smirk settled on his face. Lucia admired his face on the big screen, her stare lingering on his high cheekbones and full lips.

The band frontman momentarily scowled in the lead guitarist's direction. Then he focused on the audience, staring out at them for a few moments before breaking into intense headbanging. The band launched into their opening song.

Lucia quickly dismissed the incoherent growling vocals and heavy drumming. She was holding out for Children of Bodom. Perching herself on one of the boxes of frozen churros, she pulled out her cell to listen to a voicemail from her mom about registering for college next week. Just as she was in the middle of rolling her eyes and deleting the message, she heard the most amazing sound. Her phone fell to the floor with a clatter, and she lifted her eyes to the screen. It zeroed in on the blonde showboater from earlier. His fingers flew over his instrument, making it scream. Lucia couldn't take her eyes off him, and she wasn't the only one. The whole auditorium looked on in awe, caught in the heat of his solo.

Wendy leaned over the concession counter. "He's somethin' else…"

"Amazing…" Lucia breathed, swooning. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Her heart fluttered and she began to feel lightheaded.

Then, just as suddenly as the spell was cast, it was broken. The drummer had lost hold of one of his sticks; it went flying into the audience.

Lucia noticed a tall man in a grey suit stood by the concession, looking on her intently. His white hair whipped around him as if he was surrounded by wind. Lucia was surprised by a rasping voice that echoed in her head. _Lilitu. Lilitu…_

She shivered and turned to tell Marina, who seemed to be distracted by some kind of fight that had erupted onstage. The music had screeched to a halt and the bassist was attempting to pull the lead guitarist off the drummer. The vocalist dropped his mic with a resounding thud and leapt into the brawl. The crowd booed. Lucia remembered the white-haired man. When she turned to where he had stood, he was gone. After a few minutes of hair pulling and face punching, the band members parted.

"Smugly Dismissed, hah? I smugly dismisses _you_!" The guitar god panted angrily. He threw his instrument down and stormed off the stage.

Wendy's eyes widened. "Woah!"

Lucia just shook her head. She scanned the crowd again in vain for the man in grey, knowing he was long gone.


	2. Chapter 2: DethParty

The rest of the bands that night played on without incident. Cradle and COB were, of course, as amazing as ever. The girls took final inventory, turned in their bank to the main office, and headed home.

"Oh, did I tell you that Nana called this morning?" Marina asked, cutting through the silent ride home. Nana was the nickname for Marina and Lucia's grandmother, Sofia. The two girls shared the main house on Sofia's property, while Sofia lived in the smaller house behind. Sofia allowed the girls to stay rent-free as long as they were working and had at least a B average in school. Recently, she had won a raffle at the community center for a 7-day cruise of Mexico and had taken Marina's mom with her.

"What did she say?"

"Just that they had gotten to San Diego fine and the cruise leaves tomorrow at noon."

"I hope Nana and Tia Yoli have a good time."

"I'm sure they will. Hey, so guess what?"

"What?"

"Troy sent me a message on Myspace. He wants me to come to this party tomorrow night!"

"But you don't party."

"Yeah… but I could just show up and hang out with him. I don't have to actually _party_. I was thinking you and Wendy could go with me. He said there would be a bunch of free booze."

"Hmm…" Now Lucia was more interested. For a five-foot-small Mexican girl, Lucia could hold her liquor pretty well. However, her motto was "party hard and party responsibly," and she had yet to meet anyone other than herself who could hold to it. She had gotten pretty drunk, but had never blacked out, passed out, thrown up, or otherwise embarrassed herself. The most intense hangover she had ever experienced consisted of a mild headache and general wooziness. Wendy and Marina, on the other hand, were tripping over themselves after a single beer. "So where's this party at?"

"It's at that big place up on the hill."

"The one with the golf course?" Lucia asked incredulously. They had driven by it a few times on their nighttime cruises, always slowing to get a good look.

"That's the one."

Lucia nodded her approval. "Alright. I say we go… even if it's just to get inside that place."

"Cool." Marina began playing some kind of mobile chess game on her phone. It cast a blue glow inside the car, replacing conversation with a constant clicking of the keys. Marina was in her own little world now, so Lucia drifted into hers. Truth be told, what little Lucia had seen of Troy led her to believe that he was a shallow jerk. She referred to him as "His Highness" to Wendy when Marina was out of earshot. He was all wrong for Marina, but she was going to have to see that on her own. Lucia thought back on the eventful night: the guitar prodigy who quit his band in front of the whole crowd, the man in grey, and that name she knew so well: Lilitu.

Lucia didn't wake up until 11, sleeping off her long night. When she finally showered and trudged into the kitchen, she found Marina already munching on some toast. Her cousin looked as haggard as she felt.

"So something weird happened last night." Lucia stretched up on tiptoes to retrieve a bowl from a cabinet. Marina continued eating, used to her cousin's crackhead stories.

"There was this old guy," Lucia continued. "With long hair and a grey suit. He was standing by the concession last night. Right around the time the band started fighting."

Marina rolled her eyes. "…And?"

"He said Lilitu… at least I think he did. I kinda heard it in my head."

"Lilitu? The name they found pinned to the blanket you were found in?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. Maybe he's your real dad," Marina observed dryly. "Maybe you're really a demon or something and that's why they found you in a cemetary."

Lucia chewed her Coco Crispies thoughtfully. "Who knows what I could be."

Marina got up and put the toaster away, regretting bringing up the subject. "I know what you are: a weirdo." She didn't like talking with her cousin about stuff like this. Sometimes weird things happened when Lucia got mad. Marina never ceased to be amazed at her cousin's sheer capacity for vengeance. A freak earthquake had swallowed up a boy who had cheated on Lucia in sophomore year. Lucia had stood and watched the whole thing, a strange happiness in her face. Then there was that time when Lucia discovered that a clique of girls had been bullying Marina into doing their homework. "Serves them right," Lucia had commented coolly when she heard that all of their hair fell out right in the middle of fourth period later that same day. Not to mention the fact that she was found in a graveyard.

"Watcha thinkin' about?" Lucia laughed and poked Marina's side playfully. "You look all freaked out."

"I'm just a little nervous out about tonight, I guess," Marina explained, not exactly lying.

"Come on. Nana wanted us to do the weeding out in the backyard today. It'll take your mind off things." Marina allowed herself to be led outside, where the sun shined brightly on her cousin's blazing copper mane.

By the time the girls had finished their chores, it was time to get ready for the party. Living only a couple blocks away, Wendy walked over to the Reyes house. She was already in full costume, face paint, hair dye, and all. They had all piled into the car, practically buzzing with anticipation. The morning had dragged on up until now, much to Lucia's dismay. Lately she had felt a strange eagerness… impatience, as if she was just biding her time, waiting for something amazing.

Lucia looked out the car window. The higher up the road wound around the hill, the grander the houses got. Wendy whistled from the backseat, having made the same observation. "Wow… check these houses out! I heard that the guy whose house we're going to used to be in a huge band or something but they broke up so he has all this money that he's just blowing. He's around our age and already passed his prime… dang."

"So how did he end up _here_?"

Wendy shrugged. "I guess he probably wanted to get out of the scene after all that drama."

Lucia chewed her lip. "Yeah, that makes sense. It doesn't get more 'out of the scene' than the here." They turned onto a street lined with cars, the huge mansion sitting at the end. She smiled at her cousin. "I never thought I'd see _you_ go to a party like this… you do know there's gonna be booze, sex, and drugs, right? And people that go against your very ideals?"

"You mean people like you? I know that," Marina replied frankly.

"Ouch," Lucia laughed, placing a hand over her wounded heart. "A low blow… Hey, so you really like this Troy guy, don't you?"

"Omigod," Marina breathed. She pulled the car over to the curb, behind a white Accord with a Valley High bumper sticker. "Omigod I think that's his car!"

Lucia smiled wryly at her cousin's excitement. "I'll take that as a yes." The girls turned to each other.

"Ready to go?" Wendy asked.

After doing some last minute primping, the trio trekked across the huge lawn that was already littered with cans, bottles, and people. Loud music and partygoers spilled out from inside the house. The entryway opened up to a huge, open room with an exhibit-size fish tank in the middle, lending an aquamarine glow to the dim lighting. Some guys played DDR on what must have been the most massive TV Lucia had ever seen. Geek that she was, Wendy quickly pushed her way to the television to show the boys how it was done. Soon after, Marina spotted Troy, surrounded by a throng of his ASB friends.

"Go get him!" Lucia shoved Marina in his direction and decided to explore. She pushed her way into what seemed to be a dining-turned-makeout room and quickly pushed her way back out. The kitchen was across the hall. It was stocked with bowls of chips and dip, as well as soda cans in tubs of melting ice, having long abandoned for beverages of a more intoxicating nature. After downing a couple shots of vodka and grabbing a beer, she wandered on. Down the hall there was a study, packed with rap blaring from huge speakers and people checking their Myspace on a computer. She ventured upstairs and, at the end of the hallway of what she assumed to be bedrooms, found glass doors that led to a deserted balcony. The balcony overlooked a huge golf course in the backyard and a lonely pool shimmered just beyond that. Feeling a bit more relaxed, Lucia finished her beer as she heard the door open behind her. She whirled around.

The young man that stood there looked just as surprised as she felt. He wore a blue bandana around his forehead that clashed terribly with his vibrant, waist-long orange mane_. Blue and orange. Aren't those two colors opposite each other on the color wheel? They're like… complimentary or something._ Lucia found herself wondering. With black liner rimming eyes the color of sunlit emerald and a trademark half-tee (black), Lucia knew him to be none other than Pickles, the infamous frontman of the now-defunct Snakes N' Barrels.

"Hey," she greeted. She realized that this was the washed-up musician Wendy had been talking about. _He doesn't look past his prime_, Lucia thought, giving him quick up-and-down.

"Well, hello there." He gave her a smirk identical to the one he wore during those all band interviews that Lucia couldn't help but watch. She had seen Snakes N' Barrels music videos and heard them on the radio, but wouldn't exactly call herself a fan. Still, she felt a bit starstruck. Fan or no, Pickles was _hot_. And not to mention much shorter in real life. He could only have been about five foot four.

"So, are ya havin' a good time n' all theat?" He chuckled.

Lucia's pulse picked up. _I didn't know Midwestern accents could be so cute_! "Yeah, totally." She held up her beer for emphasis.

Pickles sidled up next to her and clinked his Corona against her Newcastle. "Kanpai! Theat's, eh, cheers in Japanese." He raised an eyebrow at her.

She nodded, unable to think of anything witty to say.

He grinned. "Cool. So, Lucia, where are ya from?"

Lucia thought to ask him how he knew her name, but hesitated. "Um, just about ten minutes away, actually. On Lemon-Lime Street."

"Lemon-Lime Street? Seriously? Dood, that's ahsome! High five."

She awkwardly high-fived him with her free hand, laughing. "Hey, Pickles?"

"Yeah?"

"Here we are at a party talking about my street name when we should be getting fucked up like everyone else. You agree?"

"Oh, hell yeah." Pickles headed back inside, holding the door open for her.

She trailed him to the kitchen, admiring his easy-going manner "So what'll it be? He asked, rifling through cabinets full of booze. He began setting choice bottles down on the counter.

Lucia picked up a bottle of pineapple Malibu. "This'll do nicely."

"Arange juice goes well with theat," he remarked, heading toward the fridge.

She shook her head. "I'll take it straight."

"My kind a' woman." Pickles smirked and grabbed two red plastic cups. He deftly filled one cup full and set it on the counter beside him, then filled the other halfway for Lucia. He paused before handing her the cup. "Think ya can keep up with me? I am Irish-American, eafter all."

She leaned forward and grabbed the full cup from the counter, sloshing it around a bit before taking a gulp and grimacing slightly. "I guess we'll have to see."

He slung an arm around her shoulders and looked into his cup. "This reminds me of my old Snakes N' Barrels days... did I ever tell ya that I was the frontman?"

"I know who you are. You guys were pretty cool. It sucks you broke up."

"Ah, well." Pickles scratched his chin. "Hey, it's pretty cool to meet someone who isn't trying to bum money off me or drag me into a relationship."

Lucia shrugged, having the suspicion that he actually liked it when people did those things. "Guess I'm just cool like that. You know what I realized? You know my name too."

Color drained from his face. "Do I?" He was cut off by Wendy pushing her way between them.

"Heeey, Lu! Who's this guy tryin' to pull mooves on yoo?" She slurred.

"This is Pickles, and he is by no means trying to pull moves on me," Lucia dryly retorted. "Hey, you're actually drinking for once! Bravo!" She raised her cup to her friend.

She heard an Amon Amarth song coming from her pocket and pulled her phone out. "Hello?"

"Lu?" Marina's voice was shaky.

"Marina? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Where are you?"

"I'm in the room with the huge fish tank and the stairs. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, it's just… I wanna go now."

"Okay, just meet me down here. All right?"

"Yeah. Bye."

Lucia shoved her phone back in her pocket and sat down on the couch. Everything felt a bit fuzzy around the edges, but she wasn't nearly as drunk as she would have liked. Marina sounded as though her night had been even shittier than Lucia's. _At least I got to meet Pickles_, she thought. _It's not every day that you get to have a hot rocker all to yourself for a while. _She looked into her half-empty cup for a while, wondering where Pickles had gone.

"Lu! Ready to go?" Marina bounced into the room.

"You seem to have cheered up," Lucia noted. She got up from the couch. "Hey, let's go get Wendy."

They found Wendy in the TV room. She was nearly down for the count, stomping randomly on the DDR mat and laughing her head off. When she caught sight of Lucia and Marina, she lunged for them and tripped on the mat. Wendy went sprawling into Marina, nearly knocking her over.

"Easy, there," Lucia cooed. She draped Wendy's arm over her shoulder in an effort to steady her.

"I got 'er." Pickles appeared out of nowhere, producing a wheel chair. "Yer chariot."

"What the…" Marina trailed off.

"You are too much, guy," Lucia laughed and dumped Wendy into the chair. "Hey, it was cool hanging out with you, Pickles, but I gotta take off."

"Woah, woah, woah. Yer leavin'? It's not even one yet!" He put an arm around Lucia's shoulders and gave Marina a pleading look. "Yer sober, right? Ya can take Miss Ballerina here home yerself, right?" He gestured towards Wendy, who fanned out her black tulle skirt. "Hahaha… Miss Ballerina! I'm a ballerina!"

Marina seemed surprised by this chain of events. "Um, Lucia, can we talk to you a sec?" Marina led her cousin into the hallway while Wendy giggled to herself and Pickles at her laughed awkwardly.

"So? What's up with you and Pickles?"

"What do you mean? We're just hanging out."

Marina snorted. "Come on, Lucia."

"I just… I don't know. It's weird."

Marina crossed her arms over her chest. Lucia's confused tone briefly reminded her of when she was talking about the man in grey that morning, and Marina didn't like that one bit. "And how are you going to get home?"

Lucia just shrugged. "I'll call a cab."

"No. I'm picking you up. You call me _as soon_ as you're ready to leave and I'll get you. Understand?"

"Fine." Lucia grinned crookedly. "Thanks, Marina." Lucia rushed back in to the front room, where Pickles was on the couch with a huge bottle of vodka in hand. Wendy had apparently passed out in the chair.

Marina raised her eyebrows in an effective "you're-making-a-mistake" expression.

"Just go," Lucia muttered.

"Suit yourself." Annoyed, Marina began pushing Wendy out to the car.

"Oh, wait. Hey, what happened with Troy?" Lucia called after her.

Her cousin just shrugged before leaving. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. Oh, and use a condom," she called over her shoulder, slamming the door before Lucia could retaliate.

Lucia whirled around to make sure Pickles wasn't around to here her cousin's advice. He was sitting on the couch in a drunken stupor. She sat next to him. Pickles smirked conspiratorially at Lucia, causing her heart to beat like crazy. _This feeling, it's…_ her thoughts were cut off when she noticed that Pickles had brought his face dangerously close to hers.

"Ya knooo… it's really cool I finally foond a lady theat can keep up with my drinkin… heh."

She smiled encouragingly at him and scooted a little closer to him. "Yeah…"

Abruptly, Pickles turned away and unsteadily got to his feet. "I'ma go get another somethin' ta…"

Lucia sighed, disappointed_. This guy is supposed to be crazy about women, so why didn't he try anything on me?_ She wasn't the one night stand type of girl, but she was somehow insulted that he didn't even try.

Lucia realized Pickles had been gone for a while and went to find him. There were still quite a few people around, but the crowd in the mansion was rapidly thinning. She spotted Pickles heading up a staircase, leading a blonde girl by the hand. Lucia momentarily felt as though a rock had been dropped into her stomach, but tried to shake it off. _Serves you right_, she thought. _You should know better by now_. Feeling more than a little embarrassed for herself, she headed outside for some air. She found a small hill by the golf course. With no one else in sight, she lay on her back and began searching for stars through the southern California smog.

Lucia sat up and noticed someone staggering drunkenly towards her. She recognized him as Pickles' brother, Seth. She had seen him on the news. Turns out he was recently cleared of suspicion of involvement in a string of stripper murders in Wisconsin. After being released, Seth came from Wisconsin to California to mooch off his younger brother ever since. Seth clamored up the hill as Lucia stood and scanned the lawn for anyone she could run to for help. "Well, wha' have we here?" He smirked and reached around, grabbing Lucia's butt.

"Get the hell away, you freak!" She noticed Seth had the exact same grin as his brother and she couldn't help but wonder how it could look so sexy on one guy but so sleazy on another.

"Hey, bitch! I'm just tryin' ta have a lil fun! How 'boot it, eh?" He slurred, reaching for her again.

Lucia screamed and pushed him, sending him stumbling down hill.

"Agh! Fuckin crazy ass bitch! Get th' fuck o'er here!" Seth grabbed a golf club that had been left on the grass and started to chase after her, tripping on himself.

_Oh shit._ Lucia screamed again. Suddenly, she felt _angry_. Her rage surprised her, but it was too late to suppress it. The air began to heat and a disembodied smell of sulfur surrounded them. She saw a look of fear in Seth's eyes and he dropped the club, confused. He looked around crazily, backing away from her. The night air grew hot and thick, just as it always did before something strange was about to happen. Then, it abruptly snapped back to normal when Lucia saw Pickles leap on top of his older brother in a blur of red, black, and denim. Pickles went straight for the throat, choking Seth. Seth's knees buckled and he fell to the ground, where Pickles straddled him and continued whaling on him.

"Stay… the fuck… away… fram her!" He yelled between punches.

Lucia couldn't help but become slightly turned on by the whole situation. There was something about the sheer hatred on the redhead's face as he kicked his brother's ass. _Wow. This is pretty hot. He's like… defending my honor_. She noticed that the elder brother's face had become a mess of his own blood. He seemed too weak to move, making gurgling noises every now and then. Pickles showed no signs of stopping, however.

"Hey, I think it's time to go back inside." She cautiously laid a hand on his shoulder. Pickles stopped his assault, but didn't move. He sat on his brother, panting. She squatted next to him so that they were face to face. "C'mon. I'll get you another beer." Seeing him with his knuckles and shirt covered in his brother's blood made her want him even more than she already did. _God, I am one sick cookie_, she reprimanded herself. Pickles glared at her and ran back to the house.

Back in the living room, Pickles had yet to say a word. He sat on the couch, motionless, drink in hand. She looked over at the ex-member of Snakes N' Barrels. He stared blankly at the hair curler infomercial on the TV in front of him. His nose was still red and there were dark, heavy circles around his eyes.

"Why were ya even with theat douchebeag?" Pickles spoke up at last, and there was no missing the accusatory note in his voice. His eyes remained glued to the TV.

"I wasn't _with_ him. I stayed outside for a bit when you went back in and then he was out there."

"Fucking cacksucker."

Lucia smiled a little. "Yeah. That's about right."

"I mean it. Stay away from 'im." He pointed his beer at her and frowned.

"Hey, thanks for… you know, saving me. You're way too cool to have a douche brother like him. Why don't you kick him out?"

Pickles sighed. "It's camplicated."

"…So was that blonde girl your girlfriend?" Lucia knew she wasn't, but she had to hear it for herself.

"Oh, her…" Pickles turned away, as if embarrassed. "Nah. Just a… lady friend."

Lucia laughed halfheartedly to cover her disappointment. _The guy's an ex-rock star... what did I expect? _She decided that she needed another drink and turned toward the kitchen.

"You were right aboot me knowin yer name," he muttered, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to face him, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been seein ya all over the place. Karaoke at the bar, walkin' around downtown with yer cousin, the music place, Denny's at three in the mornin'. Everywhere. I heard yer friends talkin ta ya n' they called ya Lucia…" He shot her a pathetic glance. "I was kinda hopin' ya'd be here tanight. Ya seemed so cool… n' ya are."

"It's surprising that I haven't seen you around at all."

Pickles thought back on the customary crowd of groupies constantly surrounding him. "Yeah, weird…"


	3. Chapter 3: Her Awakening Has Begun

The next time Lucia heard from Pickles was a week after the party. The night had faded from her mind, reluctantly filed away in the "Good Times" section. She was on her computer, instant messaging Wendy when a new conversation window popped up on her screen. "hey whats up."

Lucia blankly stared at the screen name_. DrumsNDrugs? Who do I know with that screen name?_ She minimized the window and typed to Wendy, "hey do we knw ne1 with the sn drumsndrugs???" She absentmindedly drummed her fingers on her mousepad, waiting for a reply.

"nope… y?"

"sum1 aim'ed me w/ that sn…" Then, to DrumsNDrugs she typed, "hi. who's this?" The response was instant.

"pickles!!!! didn't your cuz give you my screen name?"

Lucia narrowed her eyes, an unpleasant heat spreading through her. "no… she musta frgot. So whats up?!"

"i'm gettin off the comp… can I call u later????"

Both charmed and amused by his excessive punctuation, Lucia responded, "yeah, here's my #…"

Moments later, an unwitting Marina bounced into the room. "I'm hungry," she announced. "Let's grab something to eat."

Her cousin's obliviousness to the situation only fanned the flames of Lucia's rage, but she bit her tongue. "Yeah… sure."

After some critical decision making (Mexican is just _too heavy_; burgers are _too greasy_), the pair settled on Japanese. Walking into the restaurant, Lucia couldn't help but notice the shoeless boy sitting outside by the bus stop. He was strumming his guitar and looking hopefully from person to person. His shaggy brown hair and icy blue eyes made the girls melt. They dropped a few bills into his guitar case and blushed when his face lit up with thanks.

"Tank you nice ladies! Froms da bottoms of my _heart_!"

"Come on," Marina giggled. She pushed Lucia into the restaurant.

Lucia watched her cousin across the table, doing little to conceal the disgust that was creeping onto her face. _I'll bet she didn't forget about Pickles at all!_ Lucia thought indignantly_. She's trying to hold me back. Something great is going to happen, and she knows it…_ Any familiarity, any love she felt for the girl before her had deserted Lucia.

She raised a piece of tempura to her mouth, but dropped her chopsticks. They fell with a clatter, causing Marina to look up from her bento. Growing alarm pulsed through Marina as she tried to process the foreign expression on Lucia's face.

"So Pickles messaged me today," Lucia finally spoke.

"Oh, shit," Marina muttered. "Yeah. I ran into him the other day and forgot to tell you. Sorry."

"Whatever, Rina." Lucia crossed her arms over her chest.

Marina put her chopsticks down. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"How could you forget something like that? Admit it, you're jealous."

"Are you being serious right now? Don't you think you're overreacting just a bit?" Marina's side-glance at the nearby table revealed that people were starting to stare; Lucia didn't notice and continued on her tirade.

"The dreams, the man in the grey suit… It's not a coincidence that bad things happen when I get mad. I'm special, Rina. I'm… _strong_. Stronger than you. And you're afraid." This realization was accompanied by newfound fierceness in her eyes. The too-wide grin on her face looked out of place to Marina, transforming Lucia into a stranger right before her eyes.

And Lucia felt _good_. She felt in control. She closed her eyes and embraced the familiar heat, the popping of electricity in the air around her. But before she decided what she wanted to happen next (and it was simply a matter of that, she knew, deciding what she wanted), a familiar and beautiful sound poured out from the street and people began rushing outside to see what it was.

**AN: Sorry about the long update time, and thanks SO MUCH to Ashurri1443 and PerformanceklokDethklok for your reviews! This summer was truly brutal. Now that class has started up again, I'll have much more time to write. It's been a pretty slow beginning, but things will be really picking up in the next chaper. Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4: DethShowdown

The duo followed suit after the crowd, pushing their way onto the street. They were met with such a tangle of heavily accented shouting and guitar-shredding that it was almost impossible to discern what the hell was going on. Still fired up, Lucia kicked, shoved, and headbutted her way to the front of the crowd.

The unbelievably cute busker from outside the restaurant seemed to be engaged in some kind of guitar battle. A familiar blond curtain of hair masked what could only have been the former guitarist of Smugly Dismissed. He had somehow produced an amp out of thin air and had plugged into an outlet jutting out from one of the tree rings that lined the street. Lucia's breath caught in her throat and for a shining moment all she could see were his broad hands masterfully commanding his instrument; all she could hear was the infinite rain of notes. But there was something wrong with the picture; she was unpleasantly brought back down to earth by the sight of the busker yelling in a foreign tongue and shaking his fists at the guitar god. He seemed really upset, yet the guitar god stood smug and oblivious.

Lucia noticed a busboy from another restaurant standing near her. "Hey, what's going on?" she struggled to make her voice heard over the din.

The busboy turned to yell in her direction. "Well, I think that blond dude came and took that other guy's guitar and just totally started wailing on it, so the guy got all pissed!"

"That's pretty fucked up!"

The busboy nodded, too entranced to give another verbal response.

Lucia ran up to the busker. She motioned to blond guitarist. "That your guitar?"

The look of despair on the poor boy's face was devastating as he nodded. "He takes it from poor old Toki. I's just tryin' to makes a living!"

Guitar god or not, no one had the right to take an innocent kid's guitar. She stood in front of the bully until he noticed her and stopped playing and acknowledged her.

"You donts has to be intermiditateds. If you wants to speaks to mes privately, I believes thats coulds be arranged…" He raised an eyebrow in an expression that was both patronizing and inviting.

Lucia ignored this and jerked her thumb at the upset boy behind her. "My friend would like his guitar back."

The come-on look soured into one of disdain. The blond shouted to Toki, "Hey! You wants yous stupid guitars back? Takes it! Donts be sendings yous little _girlyfriend_ to fights yous battles!" He dropped the guitar and turned to leave, but not without a parting strike. He grabbed Lucia's hand and kissed it. "Calls me if you decides to haves a reals man." With one more poisonous glance at Toki, he was gone.

Toki rushed forward but instead of going after the guitar god, he grabbed Lucia. "Oh, lady! You makes me such one happy guy _evers_!" He declared, lifting her off her feet.

"Uhh… It's nothing." Lucia patted his back, awkwardly trying not to melt into the embrace.

Toki released her. "Yous dat nice lady whats gives to me money befores!" His eyes widened into the cutest expression of disbelief that Lucia had ever seen. "So… yous helps Toki _again_? Lady, you _must_ tells Toki yous name!"

Lucia had to fight to keep the heat in her face from getting worse. "Um, my name's Lucia."

"… Luka… Lusisa…Looskika?"

"Heh, you can call me Lu," she offered.

"Tank yous, Lu!" He beamed.

"Just glad to help… Toki, right?" Looking through the thinning crowd, Lucia found Rina heading back into the restaurant. Before she could follow her in, her phone began vibrating in her pocket. "Hullo?" she answered.

"Dood! Lu! It's Pickles!" Lucia had a bit of trouble making out his voice thanks to the loud music she heard in the background.

"Hey! What's up? You listening to the radio or something?"

"Nah, I'm at this party n'… it's kinda lame, though, whatever. Me n' some buds were gonna, yanno, catch a movie. Wanna, yanno, come?"

Lucia could hear the slur in his voice and figured that a booze-and-Pickles-filled night was just what she needed. "Awesome! I'm already downtown so I'll just meet you at the theater."

"Yeah, cool! Oh wait! Meet us at that pharmacy-place-thingy across the street so we can pick up some, yanno, _refreshments_!"

"Sure thing, see ya there!" Lucia laughed and hung up. She could even _hear_ his grin over the phone. She turned to the restaurant to see if Marina was still in there, but came face to face with Toki instead. "Uh, hey, Toki."

He had packed his guitar away and stood by her, case in hand. "So… yous goings to a movie? With yous friends? Dat sounds fun… Toki hopes yous all has fun… ats da movies…" He drifted off in pathetic hopefullness.

"Um, you wanna come?"

His eyes shone on the verge of grateful tears. "Oh tanks yous so much!" He ran ahead in the complete opposite direction that they needed to go.

Lucia paused, doing a quick status check in her head_. Rina's got the car; she'll be fine. I'll just catch a cab or bum a ride off Pickles. All set_. "Toki, hold on!" Lucia laughed and ran after him

Marina watched through the window as her cousin ran off with the brown-haired boy, debating whether she should go after her or just leave her be. _She's my best friend. Whatever's going on, I gotta at least try to talk it out with her_. Leaving some money for the bill, she pushed her chair back with a loud, determined scrape and made her way out of the store. She made it a couple feet out the front door before she felt a cold, strong hand close over her mouth. Sharp nails pinched at her skin.

"_Noo_…" a voice rasped. "_You must not interfere_…"

**AN: Thank you so much for your awesome reviews urging me to keep writing! As long as people read this fic, I'll update! … well, until it's done. Anyway, I love you guys! Thanks for reading!**


End file.
